American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel

First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic—an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author’s preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.

A storm is coming . . .

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and that he is standing squarely in its path.

Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for its brilliant synthesis of “mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose” (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that “distills the essence of America” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is, quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination that will endure for generations.

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Review:

American Gods is Neil Gaiman's best and most ambitious novel yet, a scary, strange, and hallucinogenic road-trip story wrapped around a deep examination of the American spirit. Gaiman tackles everything from the onslaught of the information age to the meaning of death, but he doesn't sacrifice the razor-sharp plotting and narrative style he's been delivering since his Sandman days.

Shadow gets out of prison early when his wife is killed in a car crash. At a loss, he takes up with a mysterious character called Wednesday, who is much more than he appears. In fact, Wednesday is an old god, once known as Odin the All-father, who is roaming America rounding up his forgotten fellows in preparation for an epic battle against the upstart deities of the Internet, credit cards, television, and all that is wired. Shadow agrees to help Wednesday, and they whirl through a psycho-spiritual storm that becomes all too real in its manifestations. For instance, Shadow's dead wife Laura keeps showing up, and not just as a ghost--the difficulty of their continuing relationship is by turns grim and darkly funny, just like the rest of the book.

Armed only with some coin tricks and a sense of purpose, Shadow travels through, around, and underneath the visible surface of things, digging up all the powerful myths Americans brought with them in their journeys to this land as well as the ones that were already here. Shadow's road story is the heart of the novel, and it's here that Gaiman offers up the details that make this such a cinematic book--the distinctly American foods and diversions, the bizarre roadside attractions, the decrepit gods reduced to shell games and prostitution. "This is a bad land for Gods," says Shadow.

More than a tourist in America, but not a native, Neil Gaiman offers an outside-in and inside-out perspective on the soul and spirituality of the country--our obsessions with money and power, our jumbled religious heritage and its societal outcomes, and the millennial decisions we face about what's real and what's not. --Therese Littleton

From the Publisher:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman has won the 2001 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel at the Horror Writers Association Annual Meeting held that was held June 7-9 in New York City.

Book Description Harper Collins USA, 2011. Hardback. Book Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from US within 10 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000. Bookseller Inventory # VC-9780062059888

Book Description William Morrow. Hardcover. Book Condition: New. 0062059882 Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world. Bookseller Inventory # 13803866

Book Description HarperCollins Publishers Inc, United States, 2011. Hardback. Book Condition: New. 10th. 231 x 160 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic--an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author s preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.A storm is coming . . . Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.Life as Wednesday s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined--it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing--an epic war for the very soul of America--and that he is standing squarely in its path.Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for its brilliant synthesis of mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that distills the essence of America (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is, quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination that will endure for generations. Bookseller Inventory # LIB9780062059888

Book Description HarperCollins Publishers Inc, United States, 2011. Hardback. Book Condition: New. 10th. 231 x 160 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic--an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author s preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.A storm is coming . . . Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.Life as Wednesday s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined--it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing--an epic war for the very soul of America--and that he is standing squarely in its path.Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for its brilliant synthesis of mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that distills the essence of America (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is, quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination that will endure for generations. Bookseller Inventory # LIB9780062059888

Book Description William Morrow, 2011. Book Condition: New. Brand New, Unread Copy in Perfect Condition. A+ Customer Service! Summary: "Mystery, satire, sex, horror, poetic prose.If you have enjoyed John Crowley's Little, Big or Stephen King's The Stand or the urbane horror fiction of Jonathan Carroll.then American Gods arrives just in time." Washington Post "Dark fun, and nourishing to the soul." Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay It has been a decade since #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book) rocked the literary world with American Godshis breathtaking tale of the war on Earth between old gods and new. For those who have yet to experience Gaiman's bestselling tour de forcea novel USA Today called "a powerful, searing force that makes readers confront what is real and what is not"and for those eager to enter this astonishing world again, comes the Author's Preferred Text 10th Anniversary Edition. Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Bram Stoker Awards, with a special introduction by the author, this is American Gods as Neil Gaiman always meant it to be. Bookseller Inventory # ABE_book_new_0062059882

Book Description Hardcover. Book Condition: New. 10th. 155mm x 36mm x 231mm. Hardcover. First published in 2001, "American Gods" became an instant classic?an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil.Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. 541 pages. 0.726. Bookseller Inventory # 9780062059888

Book Description William Morrow & Company. Hardcover. Book Condition: New. Hardcover. 560 pages. Dimensions: 9.0in. x 6.0in. x 1.4in.First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classican intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the authors preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman. A storm is coming . . . Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadows best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself. Life as Wednesdays bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imaginedit is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewingan epic war for the very soul of Americaand that he is standing squarely in its path. Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for its brilliant synthesis of mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that distills the essence of America (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is, quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination that will endure for generations. This item ships from multiple locations. Your book may arrive from Roseburg,OR, La Vergne,TN, Momence,IL, Commerce,GA. Hardcover. Bookseller Inventory # 9780062059888